Voice search is the next big trend that’s going to hit marketers, particularly when it comes to SEO and website optimisation. Research by ComScore predicts that in 2020, around 50% of all searches will be done using voice. While mobile search transformed the way we optimised website content, voice search is likely to have a similarly significant impact on the way we write and present content online. The way people search using voice is very different from how they type into a search bar and this is something all marketers are going to need to start thinking about if they want their content to remain effective online. Here are five tips to help you make your content more voice search friendly: 1. Pick long tail keywords or sentences. Unlike when they’re typing, when people are talking into a voice assistant like Siri, it’s unlikely they will use clunky keywords like, “dentist Sydney.” Voice search is typically more conversational, for example a person might say something like, “find a cosmetic dentist in Sydney CBD.” This means you need to start targeting longer phrases in your content and think about how someone would ask for your products or services in conversation rather than what they would type in a search bar. 2. Be specific. There’s no room for vagaries when you’re talking to a voice assistant. We’ve all experienced the frustration of trying to get information and having a voice assistant completely misunderstand a single word or phrase. Searchers know this and they strive to be as specific as possible to get the most accurate answer they can. If you want...
Briefing is the most important stage of any freelance writing job. If a project goes wrong or a client is not happy, more often than not, the problem can be traced back to the brief. Spending a bit of time upfront getting the brief right can save you hours of rewriting, and reduce the risk you’ll have unhappy clients and negative feedback. The purpose of the brief The brief is a simple set of questions that you ask the client before starting a new project. As well as giving you the instructions for what to write (and how to write it), the brief is an agreed upon point of reference in the event of a dispute or if the client is not happy with the end result. Ask the right questions and you’ll have a much better chance of nailing it first time and avoiding endless rewrites and frustration on both sides. So how much should you ask? A good brief is not too long, while still covering everything you need to know to complete the job to your client’s specifications. Before you get in depth it’s a good idea to cover off the basics, like: Type of content (webpage, blog, social post etc) Number of pages Length of content (usually this is given as number of words) What the content is about. Once you’ve got the basics covered, you’ll want to ask a few more in depth questions so you can really understand what the client is looking for in terms of style, tone and what they want the content to achieve. Here are five questions you should...
Fear is a powerful motivator, and it has been used to persuade people to do or buy things for decades, if not centuries. Many marketers still rely on fear-based marketing to encourage customers to buy their product, by waxing lyrical on the awful things that will happen if they don’t. But are these kinds of scare tactics still relevant in modern marketing? Why is fear such a powerful marketing tool? Fear is hardwired into humans as a survival mechanism. When we’re afraid, our bodies release adrenaline, which motivates us to act fast. This is also why it’s such an effective sales technique! While inducing a state of outright panic in your prospects is probably not your goal, techniques like limited time offers and urgency based marketing create similar sensations by making a customer anxious about missing out on a good deal or limited edition product. This in turn makes them more likely to buy quickly or impulsively. Fear based marketing is frequently used for industries like insurance, security and health products by showing us a gloomy scenario of what could happen if we don’t buy the product or service in question. Many cleaning product marketers also use scare tactics, by painting a picture of a germ ridden floor crawling with nasties waiting to attack our children. Physical fear is the fear of being robbed or losing your home due to a fire, but marketing can also play on social fears. Fear of judgement, of exclusion and failure are all valid fears that can, and frequently are, used to manipulate us into thinking we need a particular product or service....
Do you have a writing niche like real estate or property development? Maybe you’ve worked in a particular field so you understand the nuances and complexities better than the average freelance writer. This might enable you to position yourself as a topic expert, target clients in that area, and command a healthy rate. Ensure you highlight your point of difference – here are 3 ways to market your content writing services to a niche. 1.Create a targeted lead magnet, pushed out through paid channels like Facebook advertising, to attract new prospects in your niche. This can be a free checklist or ebook relevant to the industry you specialise in. Ensure you include strong CTAs and ask for their email in exchange as a minimum, to then continue sending relevant content in that market segment. 2. Weave your industry throughout your website, SEO and social media – highlight your specialty on your home and about pages, add targeted blog CTAs and garner testimonials from clients in your niche, to make the decision for future visitors easier. If you have an SEO strategy in place, you might decide to build customised pages to rank for keywords in your niche. List the credentials that position you favourably to your target clients to make you stand apart. Include your industry in meta title and description tags, including those for your homepage – i.e. ‘COMPANY NAME – Property Social Media and Digital Marketing’. Weave your specialty keywords into free and paid channels, including social media and search engine marketing (SEM) to continually position yourself as an expert in that field and attract the right...
How can PR elevate your brand in 2019? PR is moving fast, and what might have worked brilliantly for your brand in the past might not be enough in the present. While marketing activities like advertising look to achieve direct revenue, traditionally PR seeks to create a positive reputation for a brand in the market. However, PR is evolving into a sales role by some definitions, leading customers to directly shop the products they see online and in physical stores. We take a look at four ways that PR can support your brand. 1. Effective PR creates a positive brand image With new media outlets appearing all the time, many companies are choosing to outsource PR to agencies. These have the media contacts, know what they want and how to package it up. Within the corporate sector, PR frequently sits under sales and marketing to support revenue generating activity. That’s because effective PR comes down to excellent written and visual communication, pushed out through different media channels. The aim is to create a positive image that shapes perceptions, often through story telling and relating of experiences. There are many approaches to create that positive image, all of which hinge on creative execution and a well-planned strategy that looks outside the box to drive a message home. 2. It achieves exposure in multiple places Many will tell you that traditional PR, in the sense of bulk sending a press release to journalists, isn’t enough any longer. Sending information to the media is still important, and so is traditional coverage like a double-page spread in the weekend paper. But newspapers are...
A large part of running a business is the customer experience you create, in every place your brand is accessible. The customer experience starts from the moment a visitor finds you, and continues after they’ve made a purchase. This experience is what can attract the right type of customer – one who returns to buy from you, and talks about your brand to others. Here’s how to maximise the first four steps of your customer experience, from the point of first contact to purchase. Step 1. Look at every place your target customers access your brand We recommend having at least five brand access points. This might be Facebook, Instagram, a website, a mailing list, digital advertising, a podcast, PR, or advertorials. List all of these in separate tabs on a spreadsheet. Then, look at the activities you’re running at each of these points. You might have Facebook advertising set up for example, for which you’ve created a simple marketing funnel using MailChimp. Map activities and stages under each access point in the spreadsheet, so you have a snapshot of what your market sees. Step 2. Review the content you’ve created for each activity Does it meet these criteria? Is it showing enough value, fixing a pain point and creating trust for your market first, without asking them to do anything? You might want to pull out your customer snapshot, a description of your target customer based on research and information you’ve gathered along the way. Does it speak to customers at their level, in a language they understand? Is it on-brand? You might want to revisit your brand...
